...ding, dong......

The door bell rang a little while ago.  I wasn't expecting anyone, but I answered it anyway.....glad I did!  John  send me flowers.  Roses. Red roses. A dozen red roses.  In a vase.  With a pretty bow!   (can you tell I don't get flowers delivered very often?)   Wow!  I think I will just sit and stare at them for awhile, and then perhaps find something to stitch that has flowers in it......

...no stitching for the past few days.....

Why?  Well,  yesterday was John's 70th birthday.  John is my gentleman friend.
  I had the brilliant idea of throwing him a surprise party.....So I planned the guest list and the menu, and then found out he absolutely HATES surprise parties.  I did not want to make him uncomfortable, so we had a frank discussion regarding the celebration of his big 7 -0h.  The compromise was that he would host a party at his house, as an open house, and would supply the beverages and the brats, and I would cater the rest.......





So, off I went, lots of shopping, baking, chopping, slicing, cooking,.... well, you get the picture......I forgot to get a picture of all the different salads and side dishes, but remembered to take a picture of the appetizers and the desserts.  Everything was home made, including his birthday cake, which is his great-great grandmother's recipe.  It is a spice cake with a chocolate butter cream frosting and his absolute favorite dessert in the world. 










He had a great time, and so did all that attended.  Very little food was left over, so I think everyone enjoyed it.

Now I have to clean my kitchen and run the dishwasher about 10 more times.....and then I can stitch....

......and Even More Jam!

Sigh.  I can't stop making jam.  This weekend I made Salted Cantaloupe Jam, Raspberry Jam and Tart Cherry Jam.  And it is noteworthy to mention that the raspberry jam was made from raspberries that I picked myself, with a little help from a friend. 

The Cantaloupe recipe needs a little work, but it is good anyway.  The Tart Cherry Jam is rather good, it was requested by my dear brother and then my dear sister said she also wanted some.  Too bad they couldn't tell me when tart cherries were in season.  The Raspberry Jam is just marvelous!  When my cousin's raspberries are ready for picking, I will head over and pick some more......see, I can't stop making jam.  I still have empty jars.....

Joyful World Stitch-a-long September Completed

 Finished the stitching for September this evening.  The owls are cute but I wanted swans!

Below is the entire piece so far.  I am stitching this on 40 count Newcastle linen, over 2 fabric threads with 1 strand of the recommended floss.  It is still going to be bigger than I expected......I can't imagine stitching this one 28 count over 2, it would be huge!

More Jam!

Help!  I can't stop making jam!  I had some friends taste test the watermelon jam this week.  They really liked it and told me not to change a thing!  I did however add some apple to the watermelon as I didn't think it was jelled enough and the apple has natural pectin in it.  I am hoping that will make it jell better.  I stopped at Aldi to do some grocery shopping and they had berries on sale, so I bought some.  After a trip to Meijer for more jelly jars, I made some blackberry and tripleberry this afternoon.  Peach Jam has always been my favorite, but.....the tripleberry is outstanding!  My family and friends better like jam, because that is what everyone is getting for Christmas.

And Now it's Really Finished!

Thank you to CalamityJr for pointing out some missed stitching on this piece!  I had forgotten to stitch the colored block around the G.  I am so glad she caught this before I had it framed or finished!

And now it is really done!

ABC Lessons Finished

ABC Lesson by Lizzie*Kate is finished!  This was the last of the 15 new starts from Stitch May-nia that needed to be finished! 

It is stitched on 32 count Lambswool Jobelin with Classic Colorworks threads. 

Not sure yet how I will 'finish' it.

A Finish of a Different Kind

I have spent the last few weeks making jam.  I haven't made jam in a long time....4 years to be exact, so it was high time to make more.

Since I can only cook in massive quantities, I made 36 jars each of three different kinds. 

Perhaps I will make another flavor or two before the summer is over.....

Model Stitching

 I can finally show you what I have been working on!  These are models for Sue Hillis Designs, and now that Sue has posted the design on her Facebook page, I can show you!

This was not a difficult project to stitch, and rather fun to stitch.  That is until the dreaded frog reared his ugly head! 

I was researching fabric, and  stitching merrily away, and then Sue found out about the tight deadline!  I ran out to Welcome Stitchery to get the green gingham checked fabric and was almost finished with the long piece when I noticed I missed a stitch in the middle, and it threw the entire rest of the piece off by two threads.....would have been fine if it was for me...but since it was being photographed for the cover of a leaflet, it had to be correct! 




I stayed up all night to get it finished and started on the smaller piece, but once I got to the backstitched letters, I didn't like the way they looked!  I had to try a few different flosses before I finally was satisfied.  I got it shipped off to Sue Hillis on time and she had it a full day before the deadline!  Yay me!

July Progress, August Goals

There was quite a bit of stitching the early part of July.  Toward the end, I got involved in making jam, so not so much stitching but great progress!

July

WISPS:
10 hours on Rocky Mountain Christmas  
Antique Map and Needlebook
Heirloom Christmas Sampler
Oveture II 
 
In Progress
4 person RR Marguerite’s
Mini Embellishment Project  worked on it

Crazy January starts (28 new starts in January)

Justin’s Birth Sampler worked on it
Landon’s Stocking 

Stitch Maynia (15 new starts in May)

French Alphabet Sampler page 2 finished
Witch’s Stitches finished
ABC Lessons  worked on it

Future New starts

Crystal Violets
Peter’s stocking
Mark & Karen’s wedding sampler
Tony & Melissa’s wedding sampler
Carnival
Walking on Water’s Edge
Joyful World July finished
Joyful World August  finished
Flags and Friends Photo booth finished
French Alphabet Sampler page 3 worked on it
April flower of the month
Good Friends model  finished
Good Friends ornament model  worked on it
8 cardinal ornaments  4 finished
        
August
WISPS:
10 hours on Rocky Mountain Christmas  
Antique Map and Needlebook
Heirloom Christmas Sampler
Oveture II 

In Progress

4 person RR Marguerite’s
Mini Embellishment Project 
French Alphabet Sampler page 3
Good Friends ornament model 

Crazy January starts (28 new starts in January)

Justin’s Birth Sampler
Landon’s Stocking 

Stitch Maynia (15 new starts in May)

ABC Lessons 

Future New starts

Crystal Violets
Peter’s stocking
Mark & Karen’s wedding sampler
Tony & Melissa’s wedding sampler
Carnival
Walking on Water’s Edge
April flower of the month
September Joyful World
4 cardinal ornaments